The present invention relates to organic-inorganic hybrid composites which have unique and useful electronic and optical properties. More specifically, the invention relates to II-VI semiconducting chalcogenides with modified structures and properties based upon the incorporation of organic components via coordination or covalent bonds.
Group II-VI semiconducting chalcogenide compounds such as CdTe and ZnSe are of great interest currently for use in semiconductor devices because of their relatively wide band gaps. Semiconductor nanostructures with uniform arrangement, such as periodic arrays of quantum dots, are necessary to achieve a sharp line width and strong intensity for practical applications in optoelectronic devices. Quantum dots grown by colloidal methods are highly attractive because of their small size and strong capability for modifying electronic and optical properties of semiconductor bulk materials. For example, InP dots with sizes ranging from two to six nanometers in diameter can shift optical gaps by as much as one electron volt. The great challenge, however, is to generate uniformly sized dots and to organize them into periodic arrays in order to obtain sharp line width, and control over intensity and other optical properties. Self-assembled strain dots have some uniform structures, but their ability to change optical properties is severally limited. This substantially restricts their uses.
There remains a need for quantum confined systems combining uniformity in structure with the ability to significantly modify the electronic and optical properties of semiconducting materials.